Girls Want Magical
by ScorplinginTraining
Summary: So...Walter has finally realized Scorpion won't implode if he pursues a relationship with the team's beautiful liason, but he's still clueless about what a girl really wants. Just a little fluff to make us Waige shippers feel better about all the Linda/Tim nonsense. This is actually a sequel to 'Every Problem Has a Solution', but it can stand alone.
1. Chapter 1

**GIRLS WANT MAGICAL**

 **CHAPTER 1**

Walter never considered the lack of privacy at the garage to be a problem, at least until approximately 3 minutes into his brand new relationship experiment with Paige. They just reached an agreement that Scorpion probably wouldn't fall apart if they tried out being a couple and they were sealing that bargain with a phenomenally incredible kiss. Walter was so consumed by it that he didn't hear the commotion at the door. In fact, a bomb could have gone off in the garage… _again_ and he wouldn't have noticed.

But Paige did.

She jumped back, releasing his lips with an audible pop. She was breathing hard and trying to straighten her shirt which was slightly askew, smoothing her skirt and finger combing her hair all in a matter of seconds.

Panting, Walter just stared dumbfounded and mouth agape. He briefly lost all upper brain function during their encounter and hadn't quite recovered. Paige had just kissed him brainless and that was quite the accomplishment considering his 197 IQ. However, as he became aware of his surroundings again, he heard Toby and Happy arguing just outside the door.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?!"

"It's not officially a bet if we're playing for pizza!"

"It's semantics! Pizza or money, a bet's a bet!"

"Fine! Pizza is on me, but just because we aren't playing for stakes doesn't mean I'm not in it to win it!"

The door crashed open and an irate Happy stalked in trailed by a grudgingly repentant Toby. They didn't notice Walter and Paige for an instant, but when they did Toby's lips began to curl up at the corners slowly until he was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He took in Paige's heightened color and the dazed look on Walter's face as well as his mussed hair and shirt.

"Well, well, well…Happy, I believe we may have interrupted something."

"Don't be a douche, Doc. Hey, you guys," said Happy.

But Toby kept on, of course, "What happened to the hot date with totally terrific Tim?"

"Cancelled. Permanently," Walter intoned before Paige had the chance to answer.

"Paige, I've got the time if you'd care to tell me all about it. I'd hate to think I didn't lend a professional ear if you're feeling disappointment or anything due to recent events."

Paige smirked, "No, thanks. I'm really completely at peace with my decision not to see Tim anymore. No professional counseling required."

"Hmm. Wonder what changed your mind? 197 finally made his move? Care to elaborate on that?"

Toby flinched and grimaced as Happy punched his arm. "Butt out, nosy!" she said, "I thought we were here to see who could get the highest score on Proton Arnold tonight, not interrogate these two about their sex life…or are you stalling because you know you're gonna lose."

"Yes, dear," Toby snickered, "Hey, you guys want in on this action? Loser buys the pizza!"

Happy punched him again. "I mean, I'm buying pizza for all participants…"

Walter and Paige looked at each other. He shrugged and she nodded. "We're in," Paige said.

A couple of hours and two large pizzas later, Sylvester called to say a pipe burst at his place and asked if he could stay at the garage until repairs could be made. Since Ralph was with him, they both soon joined the party.

The whole next 43 hours and 42 minutes continued in the same vein with people coming and going and staying and leaving and just walking in. Walter was reduced to occasionally pulling Paige behind stacks of boxes and stealing brief kisses or holding her hand under tables just to convince himself he didn't imagine the whole relationship project in his subconscious. It was frustratingly similar to how high school must feel to the average person. Constantly surrounded, he couldn't even have a private conversation with his new…person of interest? without being afraid of being overheard on the comms or over the office intercom. It didn't help when they caught a complicated case that required all his focus. And when they weren't eyeballs deep in the case, Tim's hulking and sulking presence made Paige feel bad, so they had to be 'sensitive' and not 'flaunt their new status' in front of him. Walter wanted nothing more than to rub Tim's face in it, but Paige had to go and decide to be mature about things. Not wanting to tilt the delicate balance on the fulcrum, Walter complied with her wishes.

Thursday just after noon at the end of a stressful week, Walter and Toby were standing in the kitchen when they saw Tim approach Paige's desk. Tim handed Paige his case summary then leaned toward her at what Walter considered an inappropriate distance and laid his hand on her shoulder. Tim said something that made Paige look up and laugh with him. Walter gritted his teeth to stem the illogical tide of aggression he felt welling up. He had the urge to go up and slap the other man's hand off of _HIS girlfriend's_ shoulder, when Toby grabbed him by the elbow and half dragged him out the back door.

"Down, boy!" Toby said when the door closed behind them, "Paige wouldn't like you going all caveman in there!"

Walter sighed and relaxed his combative stance some.

"That being said," Toby continued, "you really need to step up your game a bit here. Right now the score is Naïve Nerds – 1, Cocky Jocks – 0, but have you given any thought about how you're gonna keep ahead in this game?"

"Do you always have to go with sports analogies? Just come out with what you're trying to say."

Toby leaned in and said, "Tim is a man used to winning in life. He's taken a few days to pout, but it's obvious he hasn't given up yet. Walter, have you thought about how you're gonna keep our beautiful office manager now that you have her?"

Walter paled as he replayed from memory all the things he heard Paige say about men and expectations and his deficiencies in the romance department. Inwardly cringing and filling with self doubt, he asked Toby, "How do you manage with Happy?"

"That's a whole different set of factors in a completely different equation, my friend. Luckily Paige knows you and likes you anyway, so just be yourself…mostly, but I would suggest a nice night out soon. And consider what _she_ would enjoy instead of a lecture on photon engineering or something."

"That sounds reasonable," Walter said nodding. But inside he was suddenly terribly unsure. In the past, he never really cared one way or the other if his relationships lasted. He had never been emotionally invested before. He certainly didn't want to die alone and end up ferret fodder.

Deep in thought, he made his way back to his desk running scenarios in his mind for a successful 'romantic' date with Paige. He really had no frame of reference. It was apparent he would need to do some research on the subject, but first he needed to actually ask her out.

The only way to do this without someone overhearing was via IM or text message. She wasn't working on her computer at that moment, so he decided texting was most efficient. True it was ridiculous to text someone sitting ten feet away, but allowances had to be made for the number of eavesdroppers in the room.

He typed, "Let's go out on Saturday night." But when he read it back, he realized she might think it sounded like he was demanding rather than asking. He deleted those words and replaced them with these, "Do you want to go out Saturday night?" Then he remembered Paige considered it more polite to greet someone first before asking for something. So, he deleted that sentence and typed, "Hi." He was just considering how to phrase the request in a softer tone and thinking this was way more complicated than it should be when he accidentally hit 'send'. Mentally slapping his forehead, he hid behind his monitor pretending to be engrossed in his home screen.

When he chanced a peek with one eye around his computer, he saw Paige was looking at her phone and smiling what he deemed the 'Walter Smile.' It was the one she seemed to reserve just for him and it always did unexplainably odd things to his insides. His phone vibrated, he picked it up and saw her message said, "Hello, yourself." She went back to her invoices, but the 'Walter Smile' was still in place, so he figured he hadn't completely blown it.

Taking courage, he texted his reply trying to stay with vernacular she would find acceptable, "Would you like to go out with me this Saturday night?"

She looked up at him when her phone vibrated and raised an eyebrow. Then glancing at the latest message, her grin widened and she quickly texted back, "Love to. I'll see if I can find a sitter and let you know."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Walter subtly began to run a search on ways to woo a woman. Most of the suggestions ranged from uncomfortable to completely ludicrous or indecent, but he mentally filed away the ones that didn't seem too offensive and soon a plan was taking shape in his mind. He began constructing a mental flow chart and making concessions for any variables and he started to feel marginally more confident. He just had some phone calls and reservations to make.

By day's end, Paige let him know she'd found someone to watch Ralph and they made plans for her to meet Walter at the garage on Saturday at seven. He walked her to her car hoping for a quick kiss goodbye, but Ralph was looking on curiously from the backseat. So, he settled for squeezing her hand and placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. As they drove away, Ralph and Paige waved and she was smiling his special smile.

Friday was a quiet day mostly spent working on individual projects. Paige had to leave in the early afternoon for a parent/teacher conference, so Walter spent much of the rest of his day researching and planning for his first official date with her. By end of business, his plan was solidified. He wrote a workable timeline for the tasks he would need to perform before seven the next night. The genius was quite proud of his plan and had high hopes for success.

You know what they say about best laid plans of mice and men…

 **AN: I've had this written for a couple of weeks, but I was busy writing and posting chapters for 'The Right Choice.' I needed some light hearted fluffy stuff after living with TRC in my head, and I thought I should post it and see if you guys think I should finish it before it becomes completely AU.**

 ***Is it bad that I just want to rip Linda's lips off right now? Just sayin'. * I know the writers don't want to rush Waige, but there is A LOT of material in Walter trying to navigate his first ever emotional relationship.**


	2. Chapter 2

**GIRLS WANT MAGICAL**

 **CHAPTER 2**

He almost swallowed his tongue.

 _She_ was coming through the door of the garage in a short, lacy, red dress and hazardously high heels. The small area of neurons in his head that were still firing sent this message: "She's with _you?_ In what universe is that possible?"

When some of Walter's blood began to circulate properly oxygenating the speech center of his brain again, he said, "Y-you look, uh…nice."

Taking in his stunned expression, Paige smiled knowingly and replied, "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself."

Suddenly nervous, Walter scratched the side of his face and tugged at his tie.

"I have something for you in here if you'll follow me," he said indicating the kitchen.

He put a hand on the small of Paige's back and guided her to the refrigerator. She glanced over her shoulder at him with a perplexed look on her face.

When Walter opened up the door, among the hazelnut creamer and condiments, the refrigerator was crammed with a riot of the oddest combination of flowers Paige had ever seen. She blinked at him for a minute then asked, "What's all this?"

Doing his best eager little boy imitation, he said, "When I was doing some research, I read that 78% of women consider receiving flowers romantic, so I read a few articles relating to the language of flowers. There were some discrepancies between sites, but most of them seemed to agree on what these specimens represent."

Amusement clear in Paige's eyes, she asked, "And what are these flowers telling me?"

Handing her a huge bunch of large, bright pink blossoms, Walter answered, "This flower is a _zinnia peruviana_. This variety originated in India and incidentally is the first plant to bloom in zero gravity and outside the Earth's biosphere on the International Space Station. This hue is called Magenta and they mean, uh…l-lasting affection." He paused and grinned in anticipation of her response.

"Um, thank you, Walter," she said from behind the wall of zinnias.

"Oh. There's more."

"I see that."

He passed her the next big bouquet. "As you know these are roses. The word Rose comes from the French word 'Rosa' and that's from the original Latin. This particular yellow variety is known as _rosa glandiflora_ and they mean 'joy and friendship.'

Not pausing for her comments this time, he reached in again and gave her a cluster of small white blossoms. "And last but not least, these are _viola ordorata_ better known as violets. The white colored ones mean 'Let's take a chance on happiness,'" he finished and looked at Paige expectantly.

With her arms loaded down with the unusual assortment of blooms, she said, "Well, this was thoughtful. Thank you. Now I wish I'd thought to bring you some flowers that mean something."

"Oh, I don't care much for flowers. Botany isn't really an interest of mine. Besides people are just attracted to them for the same reason insects are, specifically the bright color or the sweet smell. However, I can't help but remember they are actually just a plant's sexual, uh…organs," Walter's voice trailed off and he cleared his throat.

Paige was surprised into a burst of laughter. "I usually don't talk about sex organs on a first date," she said, her lips still twitching with suppressed giggles, "Well, as nice as these are, I can't take them to dinner with me. What should we do with them?"

Although he hadn't considered that eventuality, they soon found a couple of pitchers and filled them with water. Paige arranged the stems the best she could and set the containers stuffed with flowers on her desk. He caught a glimpse of her secret smile as she was setting them down and concluded the evening was off to a positive start.

The next thing Walter knew the car service texted to say the limo he requested had arrived. Hoping Paige would appreciate this next portion of the evening as much as the flowers, he said, "Our ride is here. We have a reservation for 8:00. Ready to go?"

They walked outside and a long, sleek, white limousine sat waiting for them. "I'm a little afraid to ask," she said looking puzzled, "I figured we were taking your new car."

"I thought you might enjoy this experience instead," he said, trying to gauge her mood.

As they stepped up to the car, the chauffer popped out of the driver's side and came around to greet them. "Hey, I'm Sam," he said shaking Walter's hand enthusiastically, "I appreciate your business. Heywood said to take good care of you and your lady friend," he winked at Paige and went on, "So, do you just want to ride around the city for an hour or two? What did you have in mind?"

Walter frowned and replied, "We have reservations for dinner in 38 minutes. If we leave now we will just make it."

The driver shrugged and said, "Well, okay. I don't usually do that, but I guess I can this once. How do you find this place?"

Walter looked incredulous. "What is a vehicle for if not to transfer people from place to place and don't you have a GPS in this car?"

"We usually just take our clients cruising around. They normally aren't concerned with the destination."

Exasperated and getting impatient, Walter took out his phone and found the directions himself. He showed the driver and said, "Can we go now?"

"Sure thing, boss." Sam gave a mock salute and opened the back door for them. "Help yourself to anything you want."

Paige and Walter climbed in, the door shut with a snap behind them and they were soon underway.

Walter knew instantly this was a _big_ mistake as he and Paige looked around the interior of the car. Instead of elegant, it was garish and gaudy. The seats were dark purple and the floor and walls were carpeted in fuzzy black and lavender zebra stripes. The ceiling was mirrored and rimmed with purple neon lights. A small, multicolored disco ball hung down from the center and it spun dizzily. Bump and grind music was blaring out of the speakers and there was a heavy, musky, cloying fragrance like incense in the air.

"Well, this is certainly different!" Paige yelled over the music.

"I'm going to kill Heywood!" Walter shouted back. "Help me look for the volume control!"

"What?!"

"The volume control!"

They both began to open and shut drawers and cabinets. The first cabinet contained a full bar. He opened a drawer next and she simultaneously opened another cabinet. This cabinet held a TV and entertainment center…and a full collection of erotic DVDs. Walter stared in astonishment before glancing at what was in the drawer he'd just opened. Inside both of them saw flavored jellies, creams and lubes, adult toys and an impressive array of condoms in a rainbow of colors, also flavored.

They slammed them shut at the exact same time.

Embarrassed, deafened by the music and choking on the air freshener, Walter stared at his lap. He was just wishing he could lower the volume on the music so he could explain, when it appeared to get softer on its own. He chanced a look and saw Paige had a remote in her hand. When he cautiously peeked at her face he saw her eyes were tearing and he was momentarily concerned she was upset enough to cry.

"If it was anybody else," she said, shaking her head, "I would think this was a set up and I would be seriously offended. But I know you probably had no idea about any of this."

"You are correct. I assure you, this was completely unexpected. I'm sorry. Where did you find the remote?"

"Cupholder. Gah! The smell! Let's see if we can open some windows."

They buzzed down the back two windows and even found the control for the sunroof.

Paige said, "It's still awful. My eyes are watering. C'mon let's stand up through the sunroof."

"What?"

"Just trust me." She pulled him up by the elbow, they stood on the seat and poked their heads out the top of the car.

"I feel like a gopher," he said glumly.

They looked at each other and started laughing hysterically. Her mascara had run a bit where her eyes had been watering from the smell and her hair was whipping around her head wildly in the wind. Walter had the illogical thought that she was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen and he laced his fingers with hers.

When they reached the restaurant, he paid the chauffer and sent him on his way. "We'll find another way home," he said.

The small boutique eatery was lovely and Walter began to relax a little after the limo fiasco. That was until the maitre d' looked them up and down taking in their windblown appearance and informed them of the 45 minute wait for their table.

Walter was annoyed and starving and opened his mouth to protest when Paige placed a hand on his arm. "We'll just seat ourselves at the bar until our table is ready."

They found a couple of stools at a high table in a corner of the bar and Paige excused herself to freshen up. Walter scanned the environment and hoped she found the place aesthetically pleasing at least. There were silk hangings and marionettes lining the walls and the tables were hammered copper. The music was much more subtle and soothing than the limo's.

When she returned, it was obvious she had done some repairs to her hair and makeup. He certainly found _her_ aesthetically pleasing.

They talked for awhile about things in their world, and in what felt like no time, they were called to their table by his count a full 16 minutes sooner than the 45 minute estimation. He was pleased things were getting back on track.

Walter was so hungry he felt a little light headed. It occurred to him in making preparations for the evening out, he had forgotten to eat for most of the day. He was relieved it wouldn't be much longer until he could fuel up.

He was glad when the entrees arrived promptly…until he actually saw them. They were delivered on a white plate in the shape of an artist's palette. Around the outside of the plate were various sauces impressively arranged by the order of the color spectrum. However, the dollops of sauce could probably be measured in quarter teaspoons. In the center of the palette was a small ice cream scoop-sized pile of fish. He tentatively took a small bite. It was raw.

The waitress returned to the table with a large copper bowl in her hand. "Would you like some bread?" She asked.

Thinking he could at least fill up on something that would help him produce glucose, Walter nodded. The waitress placed one small roll about the size of a chicken's egg on each of their plates. He nibbled at his trying to make it last, but he consumed it all too quickly.

Smirking, Paige said, "What else did you have planned for us tonight?"

Worried about where the conversation was heading, he answered, "Well, there is a music club a few doors down. You like music, right? I thought we could maybe, uh, dance. My research said it's generally considered romantic and our first experience was more pleasant than I anticipated."

"Listen, I don't want to ruin your plans. It's obvious you went to a lot of trouble. But what do you say we grab a cab and a couple of burgers on the way back to the garage instead. We can sit on the roof and eat them al fresco. These shoes are already killing me. I don't think my feet could survive dancing."

Walter's smile could have lit up downtown LA. "That sounds perfect."

They ate their burgers under the strands of lights Happy had installed and laughed about the previous events of their date. Her shoes and his jacket and tie were carelessly tossed in a nearby chair.

"Just out of curiosity," Paige asked, "What made you do all this? None of this is you. You don't have to go through this kind of trouble for me."

"But that's precisely why I went through the trouble. Paige, you said that girls want magical, not interesting. I was trying to be magical, but I guess it's something I just can't achieve."

She gave him a soft 'Walter Smile', "You don't have to try that hard to impress me. I'm already impressed. And do you want to know what I find 'magical'?"

With an adorably earnest look on his face, Walter nodded.

"Every time I see you and my son with your heads together working on some project or other, that's magical. And the times when you learn something human and grow as a person, that is too. Or when you help somebody just because you care even if you won't always admit it. Or when you stand up for me or Ralph or anyone else you consider family. And especially those times you are vulnerable and show you have feelings after all, in spite of what you say. That, Walter is what I consider magical."

He frowned and blinked trying to process her words. "The articles I read on romance said nothing about any of those things. Maybe you're the one who's weird."

"Maybe so," she said beaming. Her smile made him feel slightly dizzy.

She extended her hand to him. "How about that dance like you planned?"

"That would be acceptable."

Paige fiddled with the docking station and her phone until she selected a song she liked. She took Walter's hands and guided them to her waist. She placed her arms on his shoulders and her fingers played with the short hair at the nape of his neck giving him chills. She pressed her cheek to his and they swayed to the soft, slow song.

With his lips moving against her ear, he murmured, "I understand magical now."

After a low chuckle that made his heart rate spike, she kissed him senseless again.


End file.
